Trampled by Geese is a reminder to myself to look at the positive side of life and to endeavour to only write about things that inspire me rather than focus on what is negative in the world. Kirkegaard once wrote, “Being trampled by geese is a slow way of dying, but being eaten to death by envy and greed is even slower and more painful”.

Friday, November 07, 2008

I must admit, the more time I spend in that country just south of us, the more I like Americans. I know, I know, Canadians, as a stereotype, are suppose to poke fun at our friends to the south (see this clip but I warn you, it's not funny to everyone) not fall in love with them. But, this last trip down south, I saw several things that made me feel very affectionate to those living in the USA.

We arrived on election day. Unlike Canada's last federal election where you wouldn't even notice it was time to vote unless someone told you, but didn't matter because nothing really changed this time around anyway; however, within a ten minutes of entering the US, you couldn't avoid knowing that it was time to vote.

The first thing we saw was this bloke, long beard, slightly ragged clothing, with a cardboard sign on a stick something like those guys that walk around telling everyone that the end is neigh. This guy was standing on a street corner with his home made sign that said simply, "VOTE!" I love it. I've never once seen a Canadian do that on election day. A little further on, at the center of town, the street corners were full of people with party signs. I managed to get a photo of a few. If you notice they were all for one party, that's because they were on the right side of the street and were easier to get a photo of.

Such wonderful passion. I've never seen anything quite like it (well, there were the riots in Chile over the election when I was last there, but that's another story). What I want to say is that it was wonderful to see people care so much about their country.

There were also some extra beautiful sights. They were difficult to get a photo of while driving down the I5, but this one turned out alright.

I really like this photo too. It's another attempt to take a photo of some election enthusiasts on a bridge. You can see a storm that has just passed and the sunshine moving in behind them. Perhaps it's hint of things to come.

And last of all, these were so cute.

Some sort of nightshade plant, perhaps a close relative of a tomato, that looks like pumpkins. I thought it was a very creative harvest decoration.

Sadly, there was no yarn on this trip. Usually, I make a stop at a yarn shop. I can't afford to buy much yarn these days, but I can treat the shop like a petting zoo. I go in, pet the yarn, and imagine what I would make with it if I could take it home. Next time should be a better trip, but we will see.